KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
5th Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Lydia Johnson, African National Congress Since 8 October 2013[1]
Deputy Speaker	Bonginkosi Meshack Radebe, African National Congress Since 21 May 2014[2]
Structure
Seats	80
Political groups	African National Congress (52)   Democratic Alliance (10)   Inkatha Freedom Party (9)   National Freedom Party (6)   Economic Freedom Fighters (2)   Minority Front (1)
Elections
Voting system	Party-list proportional representation
Last election	07 May 2014
Meeting place
239 Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg
Website
kznlegislature.gov.za

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading party or coalition in the parliament.

Powers

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature chooses the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive. The legislature can impel the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the members of the Executive Council (cabinet) are appointed by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reshuffle the Council. The legislature also designate the KwaZulu-Natal's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature.

The legislature has the power to pass legislation in numerous fields set out in the national constitution; in some fields the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in others it is reserved to the province alone. The fields include matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also manages the financial affairs of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the provincial budget.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 80 members, who are elected through a system of party list proportional representation with closed lists. In other words, each voter casts a vote for one political party, and seats in the legislature are allocated to the parties in proportion to the number of votes received. The seats are then filled by members in accordance with lists submitted by the parties before the election.

The legislature is elected for a term of five years, unless it is dissolved early. This may occur if the legislature votes to dissolve and it is at least three years since the last election, or if the Premiership falls vacant and the legislature fails to elect a new Premier within ninety days. By convention all nine provincial legislatures and the National Assembly are elected on the same day.

The most recent election was held on 7 May 2014. The following table summarises the results.

The following table shows the composition of the legislature after past elections and floor-crossing periods.

Officers

The Speaker of the Legislature is Lydia Johnson and the Deputy Speaker Bonginkosi Meshack Radebe; they are both members of the African National Congress. The following people have served as Speaker:

References

External links

• KZN Legislature